Van Hollen Statement in Support of Alejandro Mayorkas to Serve as Secretary of Homeland Security

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement regarding his vote to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as the Secretary of Homeland Security:

“Alejandro Mayorkas is the person we need to rebuild and restore the Department of Homeland Security. Not only is he regarded as one of the most knowledgeable homeland security experts in our nation, but he also has deep understanding of our nation’s immigration system. In fact, he’s known as the architect of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that helped protect hundreds of thousands of Dreamers and has committed to working with Congress to protect immigrant families, including TPS recipients.

“As the first Latino and immigrant to head the Department, his confirmation also sends a powerful signal. Mr. Mayorkas will need to meet the challenges of restoring moral authority and guiding the department through this difficult time, including putting a check on agencies like ICE to stop the cruel practices imposed by the previous administration. The challenges are many—and include fixing a broken immigration system; executing a nationwide vaccine strategy to combat COVID-19; combatting the rise of far-right, anti-government extremism and white supremacy; and strengthening our cyber defenses. 

“I was proud to vote in support of his confirmation today, and I look forward to working with him to keep Americans safe from threats both foreign and domestic and to enact policies that truly reflect our shared American values.”